BACK FROM THE RED
Fallen champs Liverpool roaring to life again in time for Euro assault
WELCOME back Liverpool, we thought we’d lost you for this season.
Instead, Jurgen Klopp and his men are the footballing equivalent of an adversary in a movie who simply will not die.
Think Castor Troy in Face Off. Or The Terminator in the Arnold Schwarzenegger franchise.
Real Madrid will provide a significant step up in class tomorrow from an Arsenal side imploding around Mikel Arteta.
Statements of intent don’t come much better, however, than a win inspired by Gareth Southgate’s decision to leave Trent Alexander-Arnold out of his England squad.
In fact, the Three Lions boss ended up doing Liverpool a favour with his decision.
Klopp insisted the 22-year-old benefited hugely from his two
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week rest. “One hundred percent,” said Klopp. “He didn’t have a lot of rest because we trained quite intensely with the boys but I’m sure the things we did in training helped him. If you play three times in 10 days there is not a lot of time for training.”
Klopp made it clear that he has no axe to grind with Southgate over the issue.
But Alexander-Arnold’s scream of triumph, as substitute Diogo Jota headed in his cross for the first of the forward’s two goals, said everything.
As did a third clean sheet in as many games after only two in Liverpool’s last 12.
With Fabinho majestic once more in midfield, Mohamed Salah scoring his 18th Premier League goal and Alexander Arnold exploding down the right again, the confidence is finally coursing through the collective Reds’ veins again.
Arsenal were awful, just absolutely shocking. The optimism of last year’s FA Cup win is now a distant memory. Instead you could make the case that if Arteta doesn’t make a good start in the first 12 games of next season he could find himself back in trouble.
This, though, was AlexanderArnold’s night.
His was a performance that encapsulated a desire to fight his way back into the England squad and remind his doubters that he remains their best attacking right-back. Easily.
This result set the hare running for a fight to the finish in the chase for a top-four place.
The Reds are still not masters of their Premier League destiny.
West Ham could yet go above them with victory in their game in hand at Wolves tonight. Everton have two games in hand on their Merseyside rivals. But this was a performance to make clear that reports of Liverpool’s footballing demise have been greatly exaggerated.
Arteta, meanwhile, has told his flops to atone for the horror show when they host Slavia Prague in the Europa League.
The Gunners boss said: “Talking on the pitch, outside the pitch, in the dressing room, in front of the cameras is easy.
“We have to put our heads down, take all the shots and the criticism because we deserve that and show a different face on Thursday.
“I apologise to our supporters. When you don’t do the basics right against a team like Liverpool, you don’t have any chance even to compete in the game. That is exactly what happened with us.”